The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Imagination

[ 1 ] It is quite impossible to make real progress with regard to the advance into higher worlds without passing through the stages of imaginative cognition. This is not to say, however, that in secret training a person must necessarily remain at this level of imagination for a certain time, so that it must form something like a school class that one has to sit through. This may be necessary in certain cases, but it does not have to be. It depends entirely on what the secret pupil has experienced before he enters the secret training. It will become clear in the further course of these discussions that the spiritual environment of the secret disciple is of importance in this respect and that the relationship to the spiritual environment even forms the basis for completely different methods of the "path of knowledge".

[ 2 ] It can be of extraordinary importance to know the following when embarking on the path of secret training. It can be considered not only as an interesting theory, but as something from which one will be able to extract the most diverse practical points of view if one really wants to survive on the "path to higher knowledge".

[ 3 ] One often hears those who strive for a higher development say: I would like to perfect myself spiritually, I would like to develop "the higher man" in myself, but I have no desire for the phenomena of the "astral world". This is understandable if you consider the descriptions of this "astral world" found in books that deal with these things. There is talk of apparitions and entities that bring all kinds of dangers to man. There it is said that under the influence of such beings man can only too easily suffer damage to his moral disposition and intellectual health. The reader is told that in this area the dividing wall between "the good and the evil path" is like a "spider's web" in thickness and that the fall into immeasurable abysses, the fall into complete depravity, is all too obvious. - It is certainly impossible to simply contradict such assertions. And yet the point of view that is often taken towards entering the secret path is by no means a correct one. Rather, the only possible point of view is simply the one that says: because of the dangers, no one should be prevented from taking the path to higher knowledge, but in every case it must be strictly ensured that these dangers can be overcome. In some cases, however, this will lead to a person who requests instructions for training from a secret teacher first being advised to wait with this actual training and first go through certain experiences of ordinary life or learn things that can be learned in the physical world. It will then be the task of the secret teacher to give the seeker the right guidance to gain such experiences and learn such things. In the vast majority of cases it will be the case that the secret teacher initially proceeds in this way. If the pupil is only sufficiently attentive to what happens to him now that he has come into contact with the secret teacher, then he will be able to notice the most varied things. He will find that he now has experiences and can observe things, as if by "chance", to which he would certainly not have been exposed without the connection with the secret teacher. If the pupils often do not notice this and become impatient, it is only because they are not paying the necessary attention to their experiences. It is also not at all necessary to believe that the effect of the secret teacher on the pupil takes place in clearly perceptible "magic tricks". Rather, this effect is a very intimate matter, and anyone who wants to investigate its nature and essence without having reached a certain level of secret training himself will certainly go astray. In any case, the student does himself an injustice if he becomes impatient about the fact that he is put on "waiting time". He will not be held back in terms of the speed of his progress. On the contrary, his progress would be slowed down precisely because he would start too early with the training he often impatiently expects.

[ 4 ] If the student allows the "waiting time" or the other advice and hints of the secret teacher to work on him in the right way, he is actually preparing himself to withstand certain tests and dangers that come his way when he approaches the stage of imagination, which for him is impossible. This stage is unavoidable for the reason that anyone who seeks a connection with the higher world without passing through it can only do so unconsciously and is condemned to grope in the dark. One can acquire a dark feeling of this higher world without the imagination, one can certainly come to the feeling without it that one is united with "one's God" or with "one's higher self", but one cannot come to a real realization with full consciousness in bright, light clarity in this way. That is why all talk of not needing to deal with the "lower worlds" (the astral and the devachanic), that it can only be a matter of man "awakening the God in himself", is nothing more than an illusion. Whoever is satisfied with this should not be talked into his aspirations, and the occultist will not talk him into it either. But true occultism has nothing to do with such aspirations. It does not directly invite anyone to become a disciple. But he who seeks his training does not merely want to awaken a dark perception of his "godlikeness", but seeks to open his spiritual eyes to what really exists in higher worlds.

[ 5 ] To be sure, the "divine self" is contained in every human being. But that is the case in every being. The "divine self" is also contained and active in the stone, in the plant, in the animal. But it is not important to feel and know this in general, but to really get in touch with the revelations of this "divine self". Just as he knows nothing of the physical world who can only say to himself again and again: this world contains the "divine self" veiled within itself, so too he knows nothing of higher worlds who seeks the "divine spirit realm" only in vague, undefined generality. We should open our eyes and look at the revelation of the Godhead in the things of the physical world, in the stone, in the plant, and not dream that these are all only "appearances" and that God's true form is "hidden" behind them. No, God reveals himself in his creations, and whoever wants to recognize God must learn to recognize the essence of these creations. Therefore, one must also learn to really look at what goes on and lives in higher worlds if one wants to recognize the "divine". The awareness that the "God-man" lives in you can at most form the beginning. But this beginning, if it is experienced in the right way, becomes the impetus to really ascend into the higher worlds. But you can only do this if you develop the spiritual "senses" to do so. Everything else only takes the standpoint: I want to remain as I am and only achieve what is possible for me to achieve in this way. The point of view of occultism, however, is to become a different person so that one can see and experience something other than the ordinary.

[ 6 ] And for this it is necessary to pass through imaginative cognition. It has been said that this stage of imagination need not be understood like a school class that one must "sit through". This is to be understood in such a way that there are persons, especially in our present life, who bring with them such preconditions that the secret teacher can evoke the inspired and the intuitive simultaneously or at least almost simultaneously with the imaginative cognition. But it must by no means be understood as if there could be anyone who could be spared the passage through the imagination.

[ 7 ] The reason for the danger within imaginative cognition has already been pointed out in my writing "How does one attain knowledge of the higher worlds?". This reason lies in the fact that man loses the ground under his feet, so to speak, when he enters this world. Whatever stability he has in the physical world seems to be completely lost at first. If you perceive something in this physical world, you ask yourself: Where does this perception come from? We usually do this unconsciously. But we are "unconsciously" aware that the causes of our perceptions are the objects "outside in space". The colors, the sounds, the smells emanate from these objects. One does not see free-floating colors, one does not hear sounds, without being aware of the objects to which these colors "adhere" as qualities, from which objects the sounds originate. This awareness that the objects and entities cause them gives the physical perceptions and thus the person himself stability and a secure hold. If someone has perceptions without an external cause, we speak of abnormal, pathological conditions. Such causeless perceptions are called illusions, hallucinations, visions.

[ 8 ] Now, to begin with, the whole imaginative world consists of such hallucinations, visions and illusions. It has been shown in "How does one attain knowledge of the higher worlds?" how such visions etc. are artificially produced through secret training. By directing the consciousness towards a seed or a dying plant, certain figures are conjured up before the soul, which are nothing more than hallucinations. The "flame formation", of which it was said there that it can occur in the soul through the contemplation of a plant or the like and which after a time completely detaches itself from the plant, is, outwardly seen, to be regarded as a hallucination. And so it goes still further in the secret training when one enters the imaginative world. That which one was accustomed to emanating from things "outside in space" or "clinging" to them as a quality, the colors, sounds, smells, etc., now fill the space freely. The perceptions detach themselves from all external things and float freely in the room or fly around in it. And yet you know quite well that the things you have in front of you did not produce these perceptions, that you rather caused them "yourself". This is why you must think that you have "lost the ground under your feet". In ordinary life in the physical world, one must be careful not to have ideas that do not originate from things that are, so to speak, without "ground". To evoke imaginative cognition, however, it is precisely important to first have colors, sounds, smells, etc. that "float freely in space" completely detached from all things.

[ 9 ] Now the next stage of imaginative cognition must consist of finding a new "ground" for the ideas that have become masterless. This must happen in the other world that is now to reveal itself. New things and entities take possession of these ideas. In the physical world, for example, the blue color "clings" to a cornflower. In the imaginative world, it cannot remain "free-floating". It flows towards an entity, as it were, and while it was still ownerless before, it now becomes the expression of an entity. Something speaks through it to the observer that he can only perceive within the imaginative world. And so the "free-floating" imaginations gather around certain centers. And one becomes aware that beings speak to us through them. And just as in the physical world it is physical things and entities to which colors, smells and sounds etc. "or from which they originate, so now "spiritual beings" speak through them. These "spiritual entities" are actually always there; they are constantly buzzing around the human being. But they cannot reveal themselves to him unless he gives them the opportunity to do so. And he only gives this opportunity by evoking in himself the ability to allow sounds, colors, etc. to arise before his soul even when they are not caused by any physical object.

[ 10 ] The "spiritual facts and beings" are quite different from the things and beings of the physical world. It is not easy to find an expression in ordinary language that even approximately characterizes this difference. Perhaps one comes closest to the matter if one says: in the imaginative world everything speaks to man as if it were directly intelligent, whereas in the physical world intelligence can only reveal itself in a roundabout way through physical corporeality. This is precisely what constitutes the mobility and freedom of the imaginative world, that the intermediate link of external things is missing, that the spiritual lives itself out quite directly in the free-floating sounds, colors, etc.

[ 11 ] Now the reason for the danger which threatens man from this world lies in the fact that he perceives the expressions of the "spiritual beings", but not these beings themselves. This is the case as long as he remains only in the imaginative world and does not ascend to a higher one. Only inspiration and intuition gradually lead him to these beings themselves. But if the secret teacher were to awaken the latter prematurely without thoroughly introducing the pupil to the imaginative realm, then the higher world would only take on a shadowy and shadowy existence. The whole glorious fullness of the images would be lost in which it must reveal itself if one is really to enter it. - In this fact lies the reason why the secret disciple needs a "guide" or a "guru", as this guide is called in secret science.

[ 12 ] For the student, the imaginative world is at first really a mere "world of images", of which he often does not know what it expresses. The secret teacher, however, knows which things and entities these images refer to in an even higher world. If the pupil has confidence in him, he can know that later connections will be revealed to him which he does not yet understand. In the physical world, the objects in the room themselves were the guides. He was able to test the correctness of his ideas. Physical reality is the "rock" against which all hallucinations and illusions must shatter. This rock disappears into an abyss when one enters the imaginative world. And therefore the "guide" must enter as another such "rock". By what he is able to offer the pupil, the latter must feel the reality of the new world. One can judge from this how great the trust in the guide must be in every secret training which is really worthy of the name. As soon as one can no longer believe in the guide, it is in this higher world as if everything in the physical world on which one has built one's faith in the reality of one's perceptions were suddenly taken away.

[ 13 ] In addition to this one fact, there is another that could confuse a person if he were to enter the imaginative world without guidance. Of all spiritual beings, the secret disciple first and foremost gets to know himself. In physical life, man has feelings, desires, wishes, passions, imaginations, and so on. Although these are all caused by the things and entities of the outer world, man knows quite well that they form his inner world, and he distinguishes them from the objects of the outer world as that which takes place in his soul. But as soon as the imaginative sense is awakened, this ease of discrimination ceases altogether. His own feelings, ideas, passions etc. literally emerge from him and take on form, color and tone. He is now confronted with them in the same way as in the physical world with completely alien objects and entities. And that the confusion can become a complete one will be understood if one remembers what has been said in the chapter "On Some Effects of Initiation" in "How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds". Nothing else is described there than the way in which the imaginative world appears to the observer. In it, everything appears in reverse, as in a mirror image. What emanates from man appears as if it wanted to approach him from outside. A wish that he harbors is transformed into a shape, for example into the form of a fantastic-looking animal, or even a human-like being. This seems to assail him, attack him or cause him to do this or that. Thus it can happen that the human being appears to be surrounded and fluttered around by a completely fantastic, often attractive and seductive, often also gruesome world. In truth, this world represents nothing other than his own thoughts, desires and passions, which are transformed into images. - It would be a great mistake to believe that it is easy to distinguish this self transformed into images from the real spiritual world. First of all, it is virtually impossible for the disciple to really make this distinction. For the very same image can just as easily originate from a spiritual being that speaks to the human being as from something within the soul. And if a person is in a hurry, he exposes himself to the danger that he will never learn to separate the two things properly. The greatest caution is required. - The confusion is only increased by the fact that the soul's own wishes and desires are clothed in images that are exactly the opposite of what they really are. Let us assume, for example, that vanity is clothed in an image in this way. It can appear as a charming figure that promises the most wonderful things if you carry out what it says. These statements seem to hold out the prospect of something quite good and desirable; if you follow them, you plunge into moral or other ruin. Conversely, a good quality of the soul can cloak itself in an unappealing garment. Only the true connoisseur is able to distinguish between the two, and only a personality that cannot be made to waver with regard to a correct goal is safe from the seductive arts of its own soul images. - In view of all this, one will admit how necessary it is to have the guidance of a teacher who, with a sure sense, makes the pupil aware of what is illusion and what is truth in this field. But there is no need to believe that this teacher must always stand behind the pupil. It is by no means the physical presence of the teacher that is always important for the secret disciple. Certainly there are moments when such a physical presence is desirable, and also moments when it is absolutely necessary. But on the other hand, the secret teacher also finds the means to stay in contact with the pupil, even when they are far away. And it should also be borne in mind that some of the things that happen between teacher and pupil in this area during a meeting can often continue to have an effect for months, perhaps years. There is one thing, however, which must surely break the necessary connection between teacher and pupil. This occurs when the latter loses confidence in the former. - And it is particularly bad when this bond of trust is severed before the student has learned to distinguish the illusions of his own soul from the true reality.

[ 14 ] Now one could perhaps say: yes, if such a bond with the teacher occurs in this way, the secret disciple loses all freedom and independence. He gives himself completely into the teacher's hands, so to speak. But in reality this is not the case at all. However, there are differences in terms of dependence on the teacher in the various methods of occult training. This dependence may be greater or lesser. It is relatively greatest in the method which was followed by the occultists of the Orient and is still taught by them today as their own. This dependence on a human being is present to a much lesser extent in the so-called Christian initiation. And it actually disappears completely in the path of knowledge that has been indicated by the so-called secret schools of the Rosicrucians since the fourteenth century. It is true that the teacher cannot cease to exist in this case, for that is impossible. But all dependence on him truly ceases. How this is possible can be seen from the continuation of this account. It will describe exactly how these three "paths of knowledge" differ: the Oriental, the Christian and the Rosicrucian. In the case of the latter, nothing comes into consideration that could somehow disturb a modern person's sense of freedom. It will also be described in this sequel how one or the other person, as a secret disciple, can come to follow not the Rosicrucian path in modern Europe, but the Oriental or the older Christian path, even though the Rosicrucian path is currently the most natural. As we will see later on, this is not unchristian. A person can follow it without jeopardizing his Christianity, and a person can also follow it if he believes he is at the full height of modern scientific worldview.

[ 15 ] However, there is another point that might need to be explained. One might feel tempted to ask whether the secret disciple could not be spared having to go through the illusions of his own soul. If this were to happen, he would never arrive at the independent discernment that is so desirable for him. For nothing can make the quite peculiar nature of the imaginative world clearer than the contemplation of one's own soul. Man knows the inner life of his soul first of all from one side. He is just inside it. And this is precisely what the secret disciple must learn: not only to look at things from the outside, but to observe them as if he were inside them all. If his own world of thought confronts him like something alien, then he learns to know the other side of a thing that he already knows from one side. He must, as it were, become the first example of such knowledge to himself. From the physical world he is accustomed to something quite different. There he always sees all other things only from the outside, but he experiences himself only from the inside. As long as he remains in the physical world, he can never see beyond the surface of things. And he can never go out of himself, "get out of his own skin" as it were, in order to observe himself from the outside. The latter is literally incumbent upon him first in the secret training, and with its help he then learns to look behind the surface of external facts and entities.